IZO is located on the island of Tenerife at 28º18’N, 16º29’W, 2367 m a.s.l. The observatory is located on the top of a mountain plateau in a pre-national park area (Teide National Park) that is environmentally protected by the "sky law". IZO is normally above a temperature inversion layer, generally well established over the island, and so free of local anthropoge­nic influences.

CLIMATE

Located North of the Tropic of Cancer, the Canary Islands are affected practically all year by the high pressure belt from middle latitudes, specifically by the southern side of the Azores Anticyclone. The station is located at 2400 meters above sea level, in the free troposphere above the quasi-permanent inversion layer present in the Canary Islands.The climate in the area of the station is extremely dry for the majority of the year, this together with the clean air from the upper troposphere gives the area a major scientific interest.In these days when the climate is dry, the insolation is very high, especially during the summer with consequent daytime warming, while during winter nights there is a substantial thermal cooling.The largest contribution to rainfall in the area occurs during a few days of winter produced by Atlantic Storms affecting the Canary Islands.The precipitation is concentrated in six months from October to March, with an absolute maximum between December and January and another relative in March, while from April until September the contribution is virtually null. More...